Turkey reaffirmed its solidarity with breakaway Turkish Cypriots today and vowed it would not give in to Greek Cypriot "blackmail" in order to keep its European Union negotiations on track.
The EU says Turkey must open its ports to shipping from EU member state Cyprus by next month or face a penalty - most likely a partial suspension of its EU talks, diplomats say.
Turkey, which has no diplomatic relations with the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government in Nicosia, says it can only act if the EU lifts trade restrictions imposed against the Turkish Cypriots Ankara alone backs.
"For us Cyprus is a national cause," Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said in the Turkish Cypriot part of divided Nicosia during celebrations to mark the 23rd anniversary of the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
"It is definitely not right to link Turkey's EU accession to the Cyprus problem ... But we will not give in to the blackmail and pressure from the Greek Cypriots," Gul said.
Responding to Gul's comments, the Cypriot government's spokesman in south Nicosia rejected talk of blackmail. "The EU does not blackmail anyone. It simply demands that Turkey meet the obligation it undertook towards the EU," spokesman Christodoulos Pashiardis told reporters.
Gul repeated Ankara's willingness to continue working for a comprehensive peace settlement on the island, which has been split since Turkey invaded the north in 1974 after a brief Greek Cypriot coup backed by the military then ruling Greece.
Finland, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, is trying to broker a deal on the ports issue before an EU summit in mid-December, but says it may not prove possible.